The present invention relates to a working robot for working in space to inspect a structure in a space station or an artificial satellite or to replace an attached member (e.g., an orbital replacement unit (ORU), various functional parts, a shield, orbital structure parts, or pay-loads, as will be generally called the xe2x80x9cattached memberxe2x80x9d, of which the xe2x80x9cshieldxe2x80x9d will be adopted and described as one example of the attached member for convenience of description in the following individual portions) attached to the surface of the structure, for astronauts so that the movement of the attached member and the replacement of the structure can be precisely performed to improve the working safety in space. Moreover, the invention enables the robot body to move while being fixed on the ground or cliff in an environment of rough ground on a star or the earth.
FIG. 34 is a diagram showing one example of a manned module constructing a portion of the space station. In FIG. 34, numeral 80 designates a module body having an experimental house space therein. To the periphery of the module body 80, there are adhered protection panels called the xe2x80x9cM/D (Meteoroid/Debris) shieldsxe2x80x9d due to numerous fine obstacles such as paint chips flying in the universe of gravity-free space which can damage the surface of the module body if they hit it at a high speed. Numeral 81 designates the M/D shield which is equipped with two T-handle sockets 82 at two portions and with bolt holes 83 at its four corners and which is attached to the surface of the module body 80 by bolts 85. These M/D shields 81 cover the entire surface of the module body 80 to protect the inside against collisions with space obstacles.
Each T-handle socket 82 is equipped with jig inserting sockets so that a worker having space wear (a space unit) grips a T-shaped manipulation tool and inserts the leading end of the tool into the socket 82 to remove and replace the M/D shield 81. Numeral 84 designates a hand rail which is disposed at each portion on the outside circumference of the module body 80 so that the worker may perform the maintenance and inspection by gripping the hand rail 84 to move along the hand rail 84.
The work in space such as in the module or in the artificial satellite, as planned at the present stage, is mainly done by the worker having the space wear, and mechanization substituting for man power is desired for safety purposes. As for robots in space, on the other hand, there have been proposed a variety of robots which are composed of a single arm or two arms, but many of them have unsolved practical problems. Currently, no robot has been realized for inspecting the module body of the space station or for replacing the structure.
Therefore, the invention has been conceived to provide a working robot which can reliably move over the surface of the module structure in the space and can unbolt the target structure to replace it with a new one and mount the new structure, and a working robot which can reliably fix its body and can move easily and precisely for observations even on the ground of the satellite or the like.
In order to solve the above-specified problems, the invention provides the following.
A working robot includes a robot body and at least one arm device including a plurality of arm members articulately jointed at their end portions. The arm device is turnably attached at its one end to the robot body and has a manipulation tool connected to its other end and the arm device is further constructed in an extensible/contractible form. The arm device of the working robot can include at least one moving arm and one multifunctional arm. The moving arm moves the robot body by the manipulation tool by either gripping a head of a bolt for attaching an attached member, as attached to a surface of a structure, or removing the bolt and screwing another bolt, and the moving arm extending/contracting itself.
The working robot can also be designed such that the robot body and the multifunctional arm are enabled to lift the attached member by the robot body fixing a fixing member onto the attached member on the lower face of the robot body and by the multifunctional arm fixing the manipulation tool onto the attached member to be replaced. The robot body and the multifunctional arm are equipped with piston type adapters as the fixing member and the manipulation tool and the structure is equipped with sockets to engage with the adapters. Further, the arm device includes a plurality of multifunctional arms and the multifunctional arms move the robot body by the manipulation tools gripping sockets or bolt heads protruding from a surface of a structure and by the multifunctional arms extending/contracting themselves to change the grips to other sockets or bolt heads.
The working robot can also be designed such that the attached member to be replaced is enabled to be lifted by one of the multifunctional arms fixing the manipulation tool onto the attached member to be replaced, as attached to the surface of the structure, and by the manipulation tools of the remaining multifunctional arms gripping the sockets or bolt heads of an attached member other than the attached member to be replaced. The multifunctional arms are equipped at their manipulation tools with piston type adapters and the structure is equipped with sockets to engage with the adapters. The multifunctional arms can also be equipped at their manipulation tools with unbolting drivers for the bolts of the attached member. The multifunctional arms can further be equipped at their manipulation tools with hands for gripping hand rails attached to the structure.
The working robot can also be designed such that the arm device includes at least one moving arm and multifunctional arm. A lower face of the robot body and the manipulation tool of the moving arm are equipped with drills or bits to be inserted and fixed in the ground and the moving arm is enabled to move the robot body, while the robot body is unfixed to the ground, by the moving arm extending/contracting itself and screwing the drills or bits into the ground, then to fix the robot body on the ground by the drills or bits, and to remove the drills or bits of the moving arm from the ground after the robot body is fixed. The moving arm can also be equipped at its manipulation tool with a wheel adapter in place of the drills or bits so that it can move by the wheel. The moving arm can further be equipped at its manipulation tool with a light and a camera.
The working robot can also be designed such that the arm device includes a plurality of multifunctional arms. The multifunctional arms are equipped at their manipulation tools with drills or bits to be inserted and fixed in the ground and the multifunctional arms are enabled to move the robot body, while the robot body is unfixed to the ground, by the multifunctional arms extending/contracting themselves and screwing the drills or bits into the ground, then to fix the robot body on the ground by the drills or bits, and to remove the drills or bits of the multifunctional arms from the ground after the robot body is fixed. The multifunctional arms can also be equipped at their manipulation tools with wheel adapters in place of the drills or bits so that they can move by the wheels. The manipulation tools can further be equipped in their leading ends with lights and cameras. In addition, the multifunctional arm is equipped with a light and a camera for detecting a position of the multifunctional arm and a state of the ground.
The working robot can also be designed such that the arm device moves the robot body by the manipulation tool gripping sockets or bolt heads protruding from a surface of a structure and by the arm device extending/contracting itself to change the grips to other sockets or bolt heads. Further the arm device is enabled to grip, carry and transfer an attached member, as attached to the surface of the structure, by its manipulation tool. An attaching portion of each arm device to the robot body is so connected that the arm device can be removed during operation. Further, a plurality of visual sensors are attached to a surface of the robot body. In addition, an adapter is attached to a leading end of each arm device for gripping the sockets or bolt heads protruding from the surface of the structure and the adapter can be removed during operation from the leading end of the arm device.
The working robot can also be designed such that a supported member of an arbitrary shape can be mounted on an upper face of the robot body and there is disposed on the upper face of the robot body a support device which is movable according to a widthwise contour of the supported member to support the supported member by pushing and fixing on two sides thereof. Further, a supported member of an arbitrary shape can be mounted on an upper face of the robot body and the supported member is supported on its bottom face on the upper face of the robot body by an adapter.
Also, each arm device can be freely extended/contracted at its individual joints and an attaching portion of the arm device on the robot body can be extended by a predetermined length to adjust a position thereof and each the arm device is equipped between its joints with an extensible mechanism for changing a moving range, a gripping range and a moving speed.
Solar cell modules can also be attached to a surface of the robot body and to a periphery of each arm device so that individual portions of the robot body, even when they are separated from the robot body, can be driven by their own communications. Also, an antenna can be mounted on an upper face of the robot body. Further, the robot body can be made as a structure to be folded in two by turning at a center thereof.
The working robot includes the robot body and the extensible arm device turnably attached at its one end to the robot body and having the manipulation tool connected to its other end. The arm device is composed of the plurality of arm members connected articulately movably at their end portions so that the robot body can be properly moved by the coactions among the extensible device by the articulately movable joint structure or the like, the turning structure of the robot body and the manipulation tools so that the working robot can be applied to various operations by selecting the manipulation tools.
The robot body works around the structure such as the manned module in space. However, the structure has various attached members attached to its surface and is covered with the M/D shields for preventing the structure from being damaged by the collisions with the obstacles flying from the space. The moving arms are enabled to support the robot body by gripping the heads of the M/D shield attaching bolts by the manipulation tools or by screwing either the bolts carried by the manipulation tools or the bolts of the moving arms into the holes of the bolts previously removed, and are enabled to move the body reliably by gripping or screwing the M/D shield attaching bolts while extending/contracting one or more of the moving arms to move the moving arm or arms sequentially.
On the other hand, the manipulation tools of the moving arms are equipped with the drills or bits so that the body can be moved over the ground by inserting and fixing the drills or bits into the ground by the manipulation tools of the moving arms and by extending/contracting at least one moving arm. When the robot body is to be fixed over the ground, on the other hand, the body is reliably fixed by fixing the drills or bits of the body in the underlying ground. In the moving case, the body is moved by ungripping the bolts of the individual moving arms alternately. Further, the robot body can be moved with the wheels by replacing the drills or bits of the manipulation tools with the wheel adapters.
The module can be lifted by the multifunctional arms while the fixing members are fixing the body on the structure. On the other hand, the manipulation tools and the structure, or the module, can be reliably fixed by equipping the fixing members and the manipulation tools with the piston type adapters and by bringing the adapters into engagement with the socket portions on the structure side. Therefore, the module can be easily lifted and moved for its replacement.
The manipulation tools of the multifunctional arms can be equipped with the unbolting drivers so that the bolts of the attached member such as the module can be removed or mounted by manipulating the drivers. Therefore, the bolts of the attached member such as the shield are removed, at first by the manipulation tool of the multifunctional arm, and the attached member can then be lifted, removed, held and moved.
The structure such as the hand rail, as attached to the house module surface in space, can be gripped by the multifunctional arm so that the multifunctional arm can be widened in its action range in addition to the movement by the gripping of the bolt heads. Moreover, each of the individual manipulation tools of the multifunctional arms and the moving arms is equipped with the light and the camera so that the image or the detected data from the camera are retrieved by the control chamber or the like. The situations around the structure in the space can be confirmed or observed. On the other hand, the situations of the ground (surface) of a satellite can also be confirmed or observed.
The robot body works around the structure such as the manned module in space, and the structure is covered with the M/D shields so that it may be prevented from being damaged by the collisions with obstacles flying from space. The robot body can be supported either by gripping the working sockets protruding from the structure surface or by gripping the heads of the bolts, or by screwing the screws of the arms into the holes, from which the bolts have been removed, by the manipulation tools of the multifunctional arms, and the body can be reliably moved by moving the gripping position sequentially while extending/contracting the plurality of arms.
On the other hand, the drills or bits are mounted on the manipulation tools of the multifunctional arms so that the body can be moved over the ground by inserting and fixing the drills or bits into the ground to fix the manipulation tools of the multifunctional arms and by extending/contracting the plurality of arms. In the moving case, the individual arms are sequentially operated to perform the actions of removing the drills of the individual arms alternately and extending the arms to insert the drills into the ground ahead. The robot body can also be moved with the wheels by replacing the drills or bits of the manipulation tools by the wheel adapters.
With the body being fixed over the structure by the multifunctional arms, the module can be lifted by the manipulation tools. On the other hand, the manipulation tools and the structure, or the module, can be reliably fixed by bringing the piston type adapters of the manipulation tools into engagement with the socket portions on the structure side. Therefore, the module can be easily lifted and moved for its replacement.
On the other hand, the manipulation tools of the multifunctional arms are equipped with the unbolting drivers. Therefore, the module attaching bolts can be removed and mounted by manipulating the drivers. Therefore, the multifunctional arms are enabled to move the shield by removing the bolts from the shield, to lift and remove the shield and to hold and move the shield by their manipulation tools.
The structure such as the hand rail, as attached to the house module surface in space, can be gripped by the multifunctional arms, so that the multifunctional arms can be widened in their action range in addition to the movement by the gripping of the bolt heads. Moreover, the manipulation tools of the multifunctional arms are equipped on their circumferences and in their insides with lights and cameras so that the images or detection data can be retrieved from the cameras by the control chamber or the like. Therefore, the situations around the structure can be confirmed or observed. On the other hand, the state of the ground (surface) of the satellite can be confirmed or observed.
The robot body can work around the structure, e.g., the manned module in space. The structure is covered with M/D shields so that it may be prevented from being damaged by the collisions with obstacles flying from space. The robot body can be supported either by gripping the working sockets protruding from the structure surface or by gripping the heads of the bolts, or by screwing the screws of the arms into the holes, from which the bolts have been removed, by the manipulation tools of the arm device, and the body can be reliably moved by moving the gripping position sequentially while extending/contracting the plurality of arms. By using a necessary number of arm devices, on the other hand, their manipulation tools can be manipulated to lift and transport the MID shields of the attached members attached to the structure surface, thereby to replace the M/D shield. Moreover, the necessary arm device can be manipulated to mount an object on the upper face of the body.
Further, when any arm device of the robot is troubled so that the manipulation tool cannot be controlled or removed from the bolts or the like, the attached portion of the troubled arm device on the body is separated so that the body can be moved from the remaining arm devices while leaving the troubled one as it is, to retain safety.
The body is equipped with the visual sensors so that it can detect an obstacle or the like, if any, while confirming the surrounding environment. At the moving time, on the other hand, the body can be manipulated while its own position is precisely recognized, so that the works can be precisely done in space.
The adapters can also be attached to the leading ends of the arm devices. If the portion of the adapter gripping the structure is troubled so that the adapter cannot be removed from the bolt or the like gripped thereby, the adapter is separated from the leading end of the arm device, and the body can be removed while leaving the adapter as it is, so that the safety is retained.
An object such as the supported member can be mounted, and the support device moves to hold the object, even if the object has different sizes, on the two sides. On the other hand, the adapter can be used so that the support tool for the worker to work outside of the space vehicle can mount boxes of various shapes such as the tool holding devices to be attached to the manipulation tool or the experimental boxes by using the arms and can fix them by the support devices.
The arm of the working robot is extensible and can be adjusted in its attaching position on the body. According to the surrounding environments such as the width of the structure or the size of the moving position, the arm can be extended/contracted, and the attaching interval of the arms on the body can also be adjusted to move and control the working robot in an optimum state. Further, the solar cell modules can be attached to the body and the arm device so that the individual portions can generate electric power and can communicate independently of one another even if they are separate. On the other hand, the robot can be equipped thereon with the antenna so that its body can be an antenna station to track the transmission/reception directions of electric waves and to provide data communications between the space station and the ground of the earth or the like.
Also, the body can be folded in two or more portions and the portions can be laid one on the other so that it can be made compact in its entirety. When the body is to be transferred through the narrow passage of the space station, it can be compactly moved through the narrow place.